The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-11
THE GREAT RAILROAD DEAL.
The Mystery Surroundingthe Big Trans
action Begins to Clear Away.
1t Appears Certain that the Sale Has Not Yet,
Been Consummated, and 1t Is Barely Pos
sible the Transfer May Not Occur.

or the hlcnmOnQ Terminal directors, ana also
| supposed to be in the syndicate to which Presi-
dent Garrett. of the Baltimore s. Ohio, has Of
fered the option of purchase. said to-day: 1--WE
have not decided yet whether not we shall
accept the offered option. 1 greatly doubt if
Mr. Garrett would SELL except on condition that
the Baltimore & Ohio and the Richmond Term-
nal be consolidated, making 5000 mile trunk
line AS Richmond Terminal director, l would
like to see this done, provided the terms of pur
chase are fair-that is, if the price is low enough
SO far, have not made up my mind on that
point. think none of the directors has as yet.
We received the proposition in its present form
only yesterday, and are not decided or it,
Another Richmond Terminal director said that
1t was not likely that the company would accept
Mr.. CARROTS offer, but he thought the syndicate,
in which, he said Messrs. Brice, Sully and
Thomas are interested, would do so. This
director said the terms were Sc, DOC. 900 down and
1000, 900 in one year, stock for that amount to
be held security. The Richmond & Danvile
people, he said, considered the figures altogether
too high.
Philadelphia special to the Post says:
There is growing suspicion here that the con-
summation of the proposed purchase of the
Baltimore & Ohio railroad control by Mr. Sully
and his syndicate may be delayed for several
months, and possibly not be effected at all. A
number of the Morgan Welsh syndicate, which
is engaged in recognizing the Reading Railroad
Company, said today that he knew that Mr..
Garrett bad for some time been desirous of turn
ing over his interest in the Baltimore e Ohio
whenever he could find purchaser to conduct
the company to the advantage of the other share
and security holders. 1t was also well known
here that negotiations looking to the purchase
had been in progress, but it was still doubted
whether anything more has been obtained by Mr..
Sully than verbal option to buy certain stocks
at certain figure. Receiver Keim. of the
Reading, said he knew of the negotiations. but
Is not Informed as to the outcome. A gentle
man who knows whereof he speaks said to-day
that he was sure that President Corbin had
refused the Baltimore 81 Ohio an entrance into
New YORK over the Reading tracks, except on
the same terms the Pennsylvania had offered,
and that agreement of this sort had been
entered into with President Roberts. In view
OF this he was inclined to believe that Mr.. Cor
bin and the Reading people generally were not
In any way interested in the present deal, but
that it merely involved the Richmond Terminal
and its system of roads in the South Mr.
Sully, he said, IL was quito likely, was entirely
willing that the impression should go abroad
that the Reading would be benefited because
he is known to be largely interested in the Sc
curlties of the company"
One of the receivers of the Reading railroad
SAID to-day regarding the great railroad deal:
Il have no doubt that President Garrett would
like to dispose of some of his Baltimore 81 Ohio
stock at good round sum, but you can rest
assured that the Philadelphia & Reading Com
pany cannot be used to pull the chestnuts out Of
the fire in any such com binaton as has been re-
ported. The president of the Baltimore & Ohio
has undertaken a great task in his attempt to
get his railroad line to New York, and has al
ready loaded the company with a good deal Of
debt he can get to New York, but not upon
ta,x, az,
chooses"
Chicago man, who claims TO have seen the
original contract for the sale of the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad, is authority for the following
statement: 'Tbe plan for a consolidation of
the various railway interests grew out Of the
efforts of Jay Gould to induce Robert Garrett
to pool the business Of the Baltimore &
Ohio Telegraph Company with that of the West
ern Union Company. Mr.. Garrett absolutely
refused to become party to such an arrange
ment and declared that he would always keep
his business interests under his own control;
that the telegraph and railroad interests were
Identical and that they should continue to be so as
long as he controlled them, but at the same time
he intlmated that he was inclined TO free HIM
self OF his business cares by the absolute sale of
controlling interest in the Baltimore e Ohio
road which would carry with lit the control of the
telegraph and express company. With this hint
as basis, the negotiators returned to New
York and formed syndicate composed as fol
lows: Calvin S. Brice, Alfred Sullv Austin Cor
Il.
Fahnesroek, Wins.ow. Lanier & Co., and j. B.
Pace. contract was then framed, in which
MIR. Garrett agreed to transfer to the syndicate
controlling interest in the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad. within thirty days for SIG, 900, a
forfeit being deposited by Mr. Garrett The
contract was shown to MIR. Gould on SATURDAY.
1t is understood that the telegraph business is
to GO to the Western Union company, and the
express business to the Adams Express Com
pany.
Robert Garrett this afternoon. virtually ad-
mitted to a prominent Baltimorean that there
was considerable truth in the newspaper talk of
big railroad deal. He would give no definite
idea of the particulars of the scheme, but from
his remarks the Inference was drawn that the
Baltimore Il Ohio railroad has become a factor
in a syndicase that is to control something like
national railway reaching from Canada to the
Gulf of Mexico, and probably from New York to
the extreme West. 1t is generally believed that
the biggest railroad deal on record has been or
Is about to be made. and that the
passage OF the interstats-commerce bill
hurried the affair to settlement
Mr.. Sully has been active in arranging the de-
tails of the scheme, and he is the only one posi-
lively known to be connected with it, but a com
plete chain is believed to have been formed of
companies operating connecting roads running
the entire length of the North American CONT
nent Opinions differ as to whether a single
share of the Baltimore 81 Ohio stock has been or
will be transferred, but the belief is gaining
ground that the deal involves not only the road
ITSELF but also its telegraph. express and Sleep
ing-car interests. The widest sort of talk is
freely INDUCED in, but actual facts can be OBJ
tanned from any one in position to know any
thing about it Many are inclined to believe that
the stock, 1900 shares, held by the Johns Hop
kins trustees at least a considerable
proportion of it. has been placed under the con-
troll of the new syndicate, but the Sc, 600 shares
held by the city of Baltimore cannot be touched
without special act of the City Council The
80. 900 shares left in trust by the late John W.
Garrett can be disposed of, the will did not
forbid sale, but simply advised that il be held
in trust for twenty years, so that controlling
interest might be secured, if advantageous terms
were offered.
Mr. Garrett to day told a gentleman at the